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Flemish

Bacchus, late 1500s- mid 1600s

Description

Maker

  • Unknown

Culture

Flemish

Title

Bacchus

Year

late 1500s- mid 1600s

Medium

Black chalk, brush with wash heightened with white body color, slight traces of ink with brush point

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • white heightening,
  • chalk,
  • wash technique

Dimensions

37.5 x 27.9 cm (14 13/16 x 11 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Watermark: Grapes with text cartouche decorated with fleur-de-lis finials [similar to Briquet no. 13219 (Bruges 1535); somewhat similar to Heawood no. 2302; French or English, late 17th-century]

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

20.463

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Under the Magnifying Glass

September 22, 2000 - January 14, 2001

This drawing is a copy of the central figures in Peter Paul Rubens's painting of Bacchus (around 1638-40), now in the Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia. Rubens was one of the most influential 17th-century artists, and many copies were made after his work. This drawing has usually been attributed to an anonymous Flemish artist. Examination of the sheet under ultraviolet light revealed faded white highlights on the figure of Bacchus. These were quite skillfully executed, leading scholars to reconsider the suggestion of one art historian, Michael Jaffe, who believed this drawing could be the work of Jacob Jordaens (1593-88), Rubens's distinguished young contemporary. Jordaens's interest in the nude, and particularly obese male nudes, might explain the isolation of the robust Bacchus, Roman god of wine and fertility, from the fuller Rubens composition; yet certain missing features make a solid connection between this work and Jordaens problematic; for example, the lack of colored washes, almost always found in the Jordaens drawings of the time. While a definite attribution is still impossible, at the very least it is evident that a Flemish follower of Rubens working in Belgium shortly after Rubens's death executed this fine copy.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Bacchus with the accession number of 20.463. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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